Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Innovation @ Commonwealth of MassachusettsFebruary 28, 2013

Tony Parham, Government Innovation Officer

www.mass.gov/innovation

@MassInnov8@TonyParham

#innovateGov#Gov20#OpenGov#DigitalGov

Document updated 3/7/13

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3Leverages the Facebook PLATFORM

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• By leveraging innovations and tools (most of which we take for granted now), individuals and organizations have increased their capabilities and their productivity

• Public sector organizations should be no different in regards to leveraging innovations.

• Our collective challenge is to ensure that the Commonwealth is at the forefront of leading the changes.

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1. Government must be absolutely transparent.

2. We must encourage people to use that data to create useful apps, devices, tools.

3. We must engage people on their own terms.

4. We help people to solve their own problems.

5. We must inject an innovative, entrepreneurial mind-set into government.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

So, what is a GIO, and what does he do?

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My Terminology:“Internal” vs. “External” Innovation

EXTERNAL innovation• Creating an environment throughout the state

which fosters the creation of innovative companies

• This is the role of my colleague, Eric Nakajima, Assistant Secretary for Innovation Policy, in the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.

INTERNAL innovation• Innovating within the Commonwealth

“enterprise” to improve the effectiveness of the Commonwealth as an organization

• This is my role.

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GIO Mission

• Identify best opportunities for using technology to streamline delivery of state government services

• Transforming government operations cost to achieve cost savings and service improvement.

• Improving internal government efficiencies

• Use cross-boundary coordination to improve the experience of stakeholders

• Solicit entrepreneurial proposals for reshaping government

• Pilot and implement the best ideas

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The Government Innovation Officer is the Business

Leader who drives innovation and transformation.

The Chief Information Officer is the Technology Leader who drives

innovation and transformation.

Have broad technological understanding. Curate new technology and skills to match government’s emerging needs. Communicate technology benefits to the business. Calculate technology return on investment. Capture key business processes and translate them into IT solutions. Be the keeper of data security. Evaluate new standards & processes. Work with business leaders to create new ways to serve customers. Create new ways for employees to work more effectively. Be organized and disciplined. Drive impactful innovation and transformation.

Have a broad business understanding. Be able to work with teams across the company. Be visionary. Think like an entrepreneur. Become fluent in the vernaculars of various business groups. Communicate effectively. Negotiate shared ideas across groups. Creatively problem-solve. Take calculated risks. Id and sell new ideas and translate them into new products and services. Anticipate new customer needs. Encourage a culture of innovation. Challenge the status quo. Identify and communicate business value proposition for customers. Drive impactful innovation and transformation.

CIOGIO

Government Innovation &

Transformation

GIO and CIO work together

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Customer “top level” groupings

1. Residents

2. Businesses

3. Local towns and governments

4. Visitors

5. Employees

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Innovation strategy?

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GIO Listening Tour (1st pass)

New Projects

• Customer pain points• Areas of customer dissatisfaction• Long cycle times

• Exclude those already addressed by a current initiative• Prioritize projects which are usable/scalable across agencies• Prioritize projects with high business impact

ANF* HED DOT HHS Ed PSS LWD EEA Quasi Other

200+ comments / suggestions

*Executive Agencies:ANF: Administration and FinanceDOT: Department of TransportationEd: EducationEEA: Energy and Environmental AffairsHED: Housing and Economic DevelopmentHHS: Health and Human ServicesLWD: Labor and Workforce DevelopmentPSS: Public Safety and SecurityQuasi: Quasi-Public Agencies

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The “10A’s”GIO’s Innovation Themes to include in all audience-facing activities & projects

1. Any time

2. Any where

3. Any device

4. Audience specific (…and FAST!)

5. Audience engaged

6. All with “one voice”

7. Apparent

8. Agile

9. Alerts

10. Accessible and Open

DRAFT Updated 9/18/12

Creating a “10A” Organization

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A few of the Projects

GIC = Group Insurance Commission; HIPAA = Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996List of innovation projects: http://bit.ly/MassInnov8Projects01

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Innovation Crowdsourcing(aka Open Innovation Software)

“Joy's Law”

"No matter who you are, most of the smartest people work for someone else.”

- Bill Joy

Sun Microsystems Co-Founder

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Innovation Crowdsourcing ToolExample: Dell IdeaStorm

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This is a good START…

• This is just the very beginning.• We need to continue to

“peel the layers of the onion” re:• Understanding organizational /

enterprise needs• Identifying potential efficiencies

& synergies (“opportunities for innovation”)

• Spreading (and systematizing) the “Innovator’s DNA”

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Government as a PLATFORM.The best way for government to operate is be an enabler.

Example enablers (gov or private): - Post Office - Highway system- Apple’s AppStore- Gov data + 3rd party developers

Participatory Budgeting (NYC, Chicago, Lisbon Portugal)

Competitions like: Ansari X Prize

InnoBucks (Social Capital, Leaderboard)

21Lisbon, Portugal. Mural of suggestions on Post-it notes.

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Eric Schmidt: “American young people have two states: asleep or online.”

Meet the people where they are. (be this generation’s School House Rock.)

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

OK…

But what does that have to do with me?

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Each of you is a leader!

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.

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Challenging the Status Quo

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Propagate an Innovator’s DNA 

Innovator’s DNA*  =

The ability to make connections between seemingly unconnected things.• Example: A calligraphy class inspired Steve Jobs’

emphasis on typography in early Macintosh computers.

Here are some techniques to stimulate these connections.  

(You can remember them with the acronym NOOQE**): Networking: Interact with people from different backgrounds

and different ways of thinking. One way to think outside the box is to talk to someone who

plays in a different box. Observing: Watching the world around you for surprising

stimuli. Questioning: Ask probing questions which impose or remove

constraints. Experimenting: Consciously try new things or go to new

places.

http://bit.ly/innovatorsDNA * Clayton Christensen** Pronounce like “nuke”

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How to invent: Idea HexagonAfter X, What’s neXt?

From MIT Media Lab: http://tedxbeaconstreet.com/rameshraskar/ (Also on our twitter stream: @MassInnov8 )

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Innovation Maturity Model

Level 1:Reactive

Level 2:Active

Level 3:Defined

Level 4:Performing

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Goal:Create a Vibrant “Innovation Management” Process

“The Think Tank”

Building Growth

Defines the Why, Where & When of our innovation efforts

“The Engine”

Driving Results

Defines how we make our Innovations real(which process, people and resources)

3. Explore 4. Develop 5. Pilot 6. Deploy2. Ideate1. Innovation

Strategic Targeting

Go to Develop Go to Pilot Go to DeployG2 G3 G4 G5Go to Explore

Source: Shubber Ali

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After innovation, EXECUTION is key!

Anybody can have a great idea.

Though ultimately it comes down to how you execute that idea that really matters.

- Morgan Spurlock

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Example:MASS.GOV BUSINESS ONE-STOP PORTAL

www.mass.gov/business

www.mass.gov/smallbusiness

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Best PracticesSetting the Foundation

1. Get the right team together – Be more inclusive at the beginning, then refine as needed.

2. Clarify roles promptly – Everyone on the team must be on the team for a reason and know what their deliverables they are responsible for in the process.

3. Build in opportunity for input and creativity, but only within the set and appropriate roles.

4. As the project manager be clear on project’s final mission, once that is clear drive all meetings towards that final product.

5. Set a timeline and expectations

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Best PracticesKey tactics

• Be customer focused, cross-agency/-sec’y• User focus-groups• Putting content in language of users• Having users determine the taxonomy of

the website• Leveraging user experience experts• Addressing Intellectual property issues• Engage legal early• Prototypes, not Powerpoints!

35Don’t just pave the cow paths!

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Commonwealth of MassachusettsExecutive Office for Administration and Finance

So-o-o-o,

What about your agency or secretariat?

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Take a few moments to rank YOUR organization (0 to 1) on each “A”

1. Any time

2. Any where

3. Any device

4. Audience specific (…and FAST!)

5. Audience engaged

6. All with “one voice”

7. Apparent

8. Agile

9. Alerts

10. Accessible and Open

DRAFT Updated 9/18/12

Creating a “10A” Organization

Which “A’s” could / should you improve for your organization? …and how?

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Continuous innovation for a more productive Commonwealth

Tony Parham, Government Innovation Officer

www.mass.gov/innovation

email: tony.parham@state.ma.us twitter: @tonyparham @MassInnov8

#innovateGov #Gov20 #OpenGov #DigitalGov

Join our Innovation Crowdsourcing Platform / Open Innovation Software testing